college tuition going down?

carolyn
Sat, 25 Oct 2008 15:11:44 +0000

Regardless of who is elected, don’t count on college costs being mandated by the Federal government.

First, let’s start with the two bills passed in the past six months by Congress and Senate to supposedly “help” with colleges costs. Both houses moaned a lot about how difficult it was for families to pay for college and how complex applying for financial aid is. In the end, however, the two bills fixed neither — they simply protected student loans and raised the limits on them; they also created a “list” of colleges that raise their rates too quickly in the future. Oh, yes, they also told colleges that they have to give students a list of textbooks for each class so they can shop around for the best textbook deal.

Neither of the two bills really addressed HOW to keep college costs down in the first place.

Neither Presidential candidate voted for either bill by the way. They were both out on the campaign trail and were too busy to get into the Senate to vote for what they both say is a pressing national concern.

But, having read their individual proposals for higher ed, it’s clear that their proposals pretty much follow what was discussed in Congress and the Senate. Both Presidential candidates talk about simplifying the financial aid process, both suggest raising Pell grant limits for students from the families with the lowest income, and both also talk about tax breaks of one sort or another to help families pay for college (although they differ a bit in how and to whom these would be given).

Neither candidate has anything in their proposals that would put a cap on tuition increases, or mandate cost of attendance cutbacks. Neither explains where the money would come from to pay for their proposals or how they will help state governments pay for the likely increase in demand for public institutions. Simply put: both pretty much are just regurgitating things that have been proposed and ultimately rejected in the recent past by Congress and the Senate.

Don’t hold your breath for the Federal government to reduce college tuition any time soon. I also wouldn’t hold your breath that we’ll be seeing any tax cuts to help families pay for college any time soon. My prediction: there will be bigger, more pressing issues for the next President to deal with over the next four years than higher education.